Collaboration is fundamental to design thinking and at the d.school we take partnering on projects and collaborating on experiments very seriously. (Meaning we try to do good work and have a lot of fun with a strong bias to action!)We’re excited to announce the d.K12 Lab Network’s first new project partners for 2013. They are all projects launched by edu innovators working on new platforms for bringing design thinking, social entrepreneurship, and creativity building exercises to young people and those that love them. We’re partnering to help drive them forward. Check them out!

Project Breaker – We’re thrilled to be working with Juliette LaMontagne, a Senior TED Fellow and the creator of Project Breaker. We’re joining forces with her to create Breaker 2.0 — a 2-week social entrepreneurship challenge for 18-24 year olds. For Breaker 2.0 we’re going to 3 cities, using an online platform for distributed participation, and embedding professional development. Phew… A lot to prototype, but it is going to be a blast! It’ll be June 19-July 2 in New York, Detroit, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Stay tuned to sign up for the PD portion or to engage youth in your school/programs.

Spark Truck– We’ll be working with the fabulous Eugene Korsunskiy and Jason Chua of the Spark Truck crew to invent Spark Truck: The Odyssey Continues… That’s a working title because the plan is for Stanford students and partners to collaborate in spring quarter to envision what the Spark Truck should be for its 2.0 journey. At its core it is a mobile education platform. How does the fabulous maker mobile evolve? Do we focus on community engagement? local produce, cooking, and math? literacy? We’ll work with the team that created it to imagine what it could be next… Key words: Road trip!

Extreme by Design— Is a new film by Ralph King. It follows three students in the d.school’s class Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability. Check out the trailer here. It will be released in the coming year on PBS and will also be having a school tour. We are collaborating with Ralph to prototype a Design + Watch mini workshop. The idea is that the film will inspire young people with the power of design thinking, empathy and social entrepreneurship and then we’ll build on it immeidately with a hands-on introduction to design thinking. The first prototype event scheduled for January 29th at the d.school! If you are local and would like to attend, please RSVP here.